Draft apparatus for railway-cars



(No M'ael.)

W.. THORNBURGH. DRAFT APPARATUS POR RAILWAY GARS.

No. 588,722. Patented Aug. 24, 1897.

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l UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM THORNBURGH, OF CLEVELAND,l OHIO, ASSIGNOR, `BY MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO THE TI-IORNBURGH COUPLER ATTACHMENTSv COMPANY, LIMITED, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

DRAFT APPARATU' s( FoR RAILWAY-CARS.v

SPECIFICATION formingpart ofvnetters raient No. 588,722, dated August 24, 1,897.

l Application tiled October 14,1896. Serial No. 608,806. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.'-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM THOR'NBURGH, a citizen of the United States, .residing at Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Draft Apparatus for Railway- Cars; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description'of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art lo to which it appertains to make and use the same, `reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification." A

My invention has for its object an improved I5 draft apparatus or draw-bar attachment for passenger and freight cars and locomotives; and it consists of the construction, combination, and arrangement of devices hereinafter A described and. claimed and illustrated in the 2o accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan View showing the draftspring case or housing in horizontal section. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section on the line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a View in horizontal section on the Hline 3 3,Fig'. 2. Fig. 4 is' a cross-section on the line e 4, Fig. 2.

My invention is designed to reduce the number and complication of parts .in draft-riggings now in general use and thereby to sim- 3o plify the construction and lessen the expense of the maintenance of such apparatus; to make it possible also to employ what is known as a Master Car-Builders yoke,

spring pocket or housing, and springs for 3 5 draw-bars, and to do away with the tail-pin,

following near the line ofsafety; to avoidJ most modern attachments or draft apparatus.

5o now in use.

My invention is also designed and adapted to make it possible, without any change in the principle of construction, by simplyenlarging the draft-spring housing, to use additional springs, as the increased capacity of equipments may require, either side -by side or taudem,without any change to the Master Car-Builders standard yoke.

Myimproved device or apparatus is also so designed that it may be made a part of and used in combination with draft-irons, thereby doing away with what is known in car construction as draft-timbers, this being au entirely new feature in the construction of draft apparatus. i

, I carry out my invention as follows:

In the drawings, Are'presents the car-sills, and A A2 the customary draft-timbers.

B denotes thedraw-head, and B its shank.

My invention relates Amore particularly to the construction of the draft-spring housing and its related parts.

C represents my improved draftspring housing, the two vertical sides C C2 together with thetop C3 and therear end piece C4 of which are preferably constructed in asingle integral casting, horizontal bolts D uniting said vertical sides C C2 of the housing to the draft-timbers. E den otes a draft-spring within said housing, and E and E2 follower-plates at the extremities of the spring. The extremitiesof the ltwo sides C C? are formed with integral inwardly-projecting ribs or stops C5 C5 and C7 C7. Y The inner faces of the two sides C C2 of the housing intermediate their ends are constructed with inwardly-projecting integral ribs or stops C6 C, forming front and rear vertically-projecting recesses, (indicated at F and F,) within which said recesses the follower-plates E E2 have a desired Inovement longitudinally of thecar, the recesses being of the required lwidth to permit the proper movement of the follower-plates and the consequent desired compression of the spring either in pulling or bufting. lAt the front and rear edges of said recesses the adjacent ribs or stops obviously form shoulders c on each side of each of the follower-plates to limit the movement of said plates and the compression of the spring, so as, as above construction, notwithstanding, allowing the follower-plates to play back and forth a required distance.

` G denotes a yoke which may conform to "the Master Car-Builders standard yoke, said yoke engaging with the rear end of the shank B of the draw-bar and passing about the rear follower-plate E2.

To close the under side of the housing C, I provide a spider II, which may be united to the sides C' C2 of the housing by means of front and rearbolts II and H2. These bolts may engage the spider with the sides of the housing in any suitable manner-as, for eX- ample, by providing the housing with ears Q, and the spider with ears Q', through which the bolts may pass. When the spider is fasten ed in position, the follower-plates play back and forth thereupon and are supported thereby. When it becomes necessary or desirable to remove the followerplates, the spring, the yoke, or other parts from the housing, it may obviously be readily accomplished by simply removing the forward bolt I-I, allowing the spider to swing down, the bolt H2 acting as a hinge-bolt, allowing the spider to be dropped down out of the way and the ready removal of said parts, so that in case of the breakage of the draw-bar spring or other parts they may be easily removed and replaced, requiring only the removal of the carrier-iron J and the one bolt which holds the forward end of the spider in engagement with the housing.

The front end of the housing, it will be understood, is open. The rear end is closed by a rear end piece C4. The followerplates and rear end piece may be constructed with openings c. This construction enables me to use other fastening devices to engage the shank of the draw-head with the draft-bar attachment or apparatus. The apparatus thus conforms to the Master Car-Builders standards, and the ease with which repairs may be made makes the apparatus of superior efficiency and utility. A

I do not limit myself solely to the use of the yoke to engage the draw-head with the other features of the draft apparatus above described. Neither do I limit myself to any particular construction of the spider, nor to any specific means of fastening the same to the housing, as my invention contemplates any suitable support or spider removably connected with the housing, or hinged so as to be let down or be opened at the front end thereof for the removal of the parts inclosed in the housing. Other fastening means might be employed to secure the support or spider thereto.

Uniting the two side walls of the housing with a top or Cover and preferably with a rear end piece or head integrally connected with said side walls securely braces the side walls and serves to strengthen the structure and to hold the side walls in place. The top or cover, thus integrally connecting the side walls, serves a special function in making a firmer structure than were the parts made separate and otherwise connected together.

It will be seen that by constructing the follower-plates and rearend piece with the openings e provision is made for the use of a tailpin, if desired.

I prefer to project the side Walls rearward beyond the end piece C4 to receive the rear bolts unitingthe housing with the draft-timbers, so that said rear bolts may pass through both timbers and the housing.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a draft apparatus, the combination of a draft-spring housing having two side walls, a top or cover, and a rearend piece, all formed of a single integral structure, a draft-spring provided with reciprocatory follower-plates located in said housing, and aremovable support or spider carrying said follower-plates, said side walls formed with integral inwardlyprojecting ribs or stops toward their extremities, and intermediate their extremities,form ing recesses F and F to receive the lateral edges of the follower-plates and limit their reciprocation, substantially as described.

2. In a draft apparatus, the combination of a housing having two side walls, a top or cover, and a rear end piece vall formed of a single integral structure, a draft-spring provided with reciprocatory follower-plates located in said housing, a support or spider having a jointed connection at one end with said housing, and means to fasten the opposite end of the support to the housing, said support or spider carrying said follower-plates, said side walls formed with integral inwardlyprojecting ribs orstops toward their extremities, and intermediate their extremities, forms ing recesses F and F to receive the lateral edges of the follower-plates and limit their reciprocation, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a draft apparatus, the combination of draft-timbers A', A2, a housing having two side walls, a top or cover, and a rear end piece all formed of a single integral structure with the side walls projecting rearward of said end piece, a draft-spring provided with reciprocatory follower-plates located in said housing, and a removable support or spider carrying said follower-plates, said housing bolted at the front and rear to said draft-timbers, the rear bolts running through both draft-timbers andthe housing, and said side walls formed with integral inwardly-projecting ribs or stops toward their extremities, and intermediate their extremities, forming IOO recesses F and F' to receive the lateral edges of the follower-plates and limit their reciprocation, for the purpose set forth.

^ 4. In a draft apparatus', the combination of draft-timbers A', A2, a housing having two side walls, a top or cover, and a rear end piece, all formed of a single integral structure, a draft-spring and follower-plates located in said housing, a support for said plates, and bolts to fasten the extremities of said support to the under side ofthe housing, whereby said support may be removed from the housing, said housing bolted at the front and rear to said draft-timbers, the rear bolts running through both draft timbers and the housing, and said side walls formed with integral inwardly-projecting ribs or stops toward their extremities, and intermediate their extremities, forming'recesses F and F to receive the lateral edges of the follower-plates and limit their reciprocation, for the'purpose set forth.

5. In adraft apparatus, the combination of draft-timbers A', A2, a housing having two side walls, a top or cover, and a rear end piece, all formed of a single integral structure, a draft-spring and movable follower-plates located in said housing, a draw-head, means of engaging the shank of the draw-head with said plates, a support for said plates, and fastenings for said support, one of said fastenings being removable to permit the disengagement of the follower-plates, the draftspring and the shank of the draw-head from said housing, said housing bolted at the front and rear to said draft-timbers, the rear bolts running through both draft-timbers and the housing, and said side walls formed with integral inwardly-projecting ribs or stops toward their extremities, and intermediate their extremities, forming recesses F and F to receive the lateral edges of the follower-plates and limit 'their reciprocation, substantially as described. K

6. In a draft apparatus, the combination of a housing having two sides, a top or cover,

and a rear end piece, all formed of a single integral structure, a draft-spring and movablefollower-plates located therein, a drawhead, a yoke engaging the shank of the drawhead and passing about said plates, and a In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM THORNBURGH. Witnesses:

N. S. WRIGHT, JOHN F. MILLER. 

